South African pianist, flutist, singer and composer Adolph Johannes Brand was known as Dollar Brand before taking the Muslim name Abdullah Ibrahim. In the 1960s he was at the forefront of the so-called Cape Jazz, a mix of jazz and South African folk music. He spent a lot of time in New York during the apartheid years but is now based in Cape Town again. He recently became the widower of singer
… Sathima Bea Benjamin with whom he had been married since 1965. An event that seems to set the tone for the understated Mukashi. Ambient jazz and blues is perhaps the best description for his transparent piano playing that is tastefully complemented by clarinet, flute and two cellos. African and Asian influences resonate here, translated into jazz traditions reminiscent of Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk. The impressive Mukashi does not sound gloomy but above all solemn and introspective, like a hushed monument to his deceased lover. (MR)more
